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THE 

NORTH RIVER BRIDGE 



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New York City. 



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The North River Bridge. 



March 15, 1895. 

NEW YORK, the foremost American city, is so isolated by- 
the Hudson or North River from the great trunk lines, 
of railroad extending to the South and West that entrance 
at present to it therefrom is attended with delays, more or 
less discomfort, and at times with danger. 

The following railroads now have termini on the North River 
in New Jersey opposite New York : 
The Pennsylvania R. R. 
The Central R. R. of New Jersey. 
The Baltimore and Ohio R. R. 
The Philadelphia and Reading R. R. 
The Lehigh Valley R. R. 

The New York, Susquehanna & Western R. R. 
The New York, Lake Erie & Western R. R. 
The Northern & New Jersey R. R. 
The New York & Greenwood Lake R. R. 
The New Jersey and New York R. R. 
The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western R. R. 
The Morris and Essex R. R. 
The West Shore R. R. 

The New York, Ontario and Western R. R. 
The Consolidated Electric Traction Railroads of New 
Jersey. 
16. The New Jersey Electric Railway Company. 
The ferry landings for these railroads in New York are mostly 
at the foot of narrow, filthy streets, in some of the worst con- 
ditioned parts of the city, which, during the day, are frequently 
blockaded with an almost impenetrable mass of teams and trucks, 
through which the landed passengers are obliged to make their 
way. 

To provide a necessary, convenient and modern terminal for 
the said railroads in New York City is the object of 

The North River Bridge Company. 



RECEIVED 

56 * 

rrc UTCTfYR. SOCIETY. 



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1 1 I I NORTH RIVER BRIDOJ 

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The railway bridge will cross the North River at 23d Street, 
and will land the passengers within one block of Madison Square, 
in the very heart of New York City, and in its best built-up quarter, 
in the centre of the shopping and retail trade, and of the hotel 
and theatre section, and readily accessible from all directions by 
street and elevated railroads. 

This Company was chartered by act of Congress, approved 
July 11, 1890, with complete powers. The charter is a most lib- 
eral one, and permits the construction of connections with all the 
railroads on both sides of the river. The plans of the bridge and 
its location have been approved by the Secretary of War, and its 
construction is, under the charter, a national work, subject to di- 
rect supervision by the national government. The bridge will 
have a capacity of 14 tracks, of which only 8 tracks will be in- 
stalled at first ; namely, 6 tracks for locomotive trains and 2 tracks 
for electrical cars. It will, with the modern facilities, be built 
under contracts in 5 years, since all the preliminary work has al 
ready been prepared at great expense. Two years are required 
for the foundations and 3 years for the towers and cables pre- 
viously manufactured in the bridge shops ready for erection. 
Condemnation of property for right of way has been commenced 
in New Jersey, and the charter of the Company has been adjudi- 
cated by the Supreme Court of the United States. The Com- 
pany is in harmony with all the existing commercial interests, 
and with all the railroads in New Jersey and New York, all of 
which, under the law, will have equal rights and privileges in the 
use of the bridge. 

The location of bridge is from Tenth Avenue, at 23d Street, 
in a straight line above the houses and at right angle to and over 
the North River to the anchorage in Hoboken, N. J., at 12th 
and Bloomfield Streets. // is the shortest, most direct and 
cheapest bridge location from the New Jersey side into New 
York. Entire length of bridge and approaches will be 3 miles. 

The approach in New York City will be elevated above the 
streets, so as to connect on a level with the elevated railroad on 
Sixth Avenue at 26th Street. 

Connections in New York will also be made with the New 
York Central and Hudson River R. R. Co. at 30th Street and 
Ninth Avenue, and through it with the entire railroad system of 
New England. 

Connections in New Jersey will be made with all the railroad 



systems, having together thirty-two lines and 1 7,000 miles of track, 
spreading out in all directions, and connecting with the entire 
railroad system of the American continent. The bridge will also 
connect with the large network of rapid transit electrical roads in 
Hoboken and Jersey City, and in the suburban towns adjacent 
thereto, and containing together a growing suburban population 
now of nearly 2,000,000, all tributary to the bridge. 

Estimates of cost have been made at contractors' prices, on 
an ample and liberal basis, to cover interest during construction, 
all possible contingent expenses, and the costly real estate which 
it will be necessary to acquire and improve. At no time before 
have the prices for building materials of every description been 
so low as they are now. 

CONSTRUCTION. 

Cost of Bridge (7340 ft. long) for 8 tracks, $21,000,000 

Cost of Approaches, Terminals and Real Estate for 

same in New York and New Jersey, 8,000,000 

Interest Account and Contingent Expenses during 

construction, 7,000,000 



Total Cost of Construction, $36,000,000 

REVENUE. 

The exceptionally favorable location of the bridge will com- 
mand more traffic and more revenue from all sources than is pos- 
sible on any other route from New Jersey into New York. 

1. Toll from local (electrical traction) 
and railroad passengers, based on low rates, 
from 5 cents up, averaging 6 cents for 40,000,- 
000 passengers (only 40 per cent, assumed of 
probably 100,000,000 crossing the riverin 1900), 

Net, $2,400,000 

2. Toll from express, perishable and high 
class freights and food products, 'and 'from 
other low class and through freight to and 
from New England, 400,000 cars at average $4, 

Net, 1,600,000 



3. Telephone and Telegraph Wire Rentals, 

Net, $ 30,000 

4. Rentals from Real Estate (below the 
tracks) acquired and necessary for right of way, 
and improved for renting purposes, 3 per cent. 

on $3,ooo,oco, Net, 90,000 



Total Net Revenue, -$4,120,000 

Deduct from the above Net Revenue (railroads 
using their own equipment and crews, and pay- 
ing their own operating expenses) for mainte- 
nance, taxes, and other expenses, liberally es- 
timated, 820,000 



Available for the fixed charges of sinking fund and 
interest on bonds in the second year of opera- 
tion, $3,300,000 

The fixed charges for interest on bonds and sinking fund for 
redemption will not exceed 2,100,000 dollars on the first cost, 
leaving the large margin of at least 1,200,000 dollars to begin 
with. There is no room for doubt, that the revenue will very 
rapidly increase to much larger figures. 

The in and outgoing tracks will be connected by a loop in New 
York, to permit of the quick and inexpensive handling and 
reversal of trains and cars. A very large passenger and through 
business can be done that way without occupying too much 
costly space in New York in the beginning. The trackroom and 
yards for switching, cleaning of cars, and for other terminal pur- 
poses will be provided in the meadows on the New Jersey side, 
in proximity to the existing railroad yards, and where the land is 
much cheaper than in New York. 

Later, as the increasing business over the bridge will require, 
the terminal facilities in New York will be enlarged for freight 
stations, ware and storage houses, and for offices and other pur- 
poses. For such enlargement and improvement of property, as 
shall then appear profitable and necessary, the Company will 
have the means for raising the funds independently of the first 
cost of the bridge and approaches. Such property and real 
estate will earn its own fixed charges from rentals, independent 
of the tolls over the bridge. The growth of business will be cer- 



5 

tain to continue for many years, similarly to the growth of all 
transportation business in New York, and will be very large, as 
may be judged from the experience with the Brooklyn Bridge, 
the Grand Central Railroad Station, the elevated railroads, the 
Broadway cable line ; and, in fact, with every transportation 
interest in New York. 

The number of ferry passengers carried across the North 
River in the year 1890 is as follows : 

PASSENGERS, 
i. Liberty St. Ferry, connecting with the Jersey 
Central R. R., Phila. & Reading R. R., and 
other railroads 11,200,000 

2. Cortlandt Street and Desbrosses Street Ferries, 

connecting with the Penna. R. R., Lehigh Val- 
ley, Susquehanna and Western, and other rail- 
roads 19,021,900 

3. Chambers Street and West 23d Street Ferries, 

Connecting with the Erie R. R., the Northern 

R. R., of New Jersey, and other railroads . 10,679,500 

4. Barclay Street and Christopher Street Ferries, 

connecting with Hoboken, and with the D. L. 
& W. R. R., Morris and Essex, anH other rail- 
roads 24,640,000 

5. Franklin Street and West 42d Street Ferries, 

connecting with Weehawken, the West Shore 

R. R., Ontario and Western, and other railroads 3,908,000 

6. The West 14th Street Ferry, connecting with 

Hoboken 2,810,000 



Total in 1890 . . 72,259,400 

The number of ferry passengers over the North River in 1886 
was 58,894,300 ; it had grown to 72,259,400 in 1890, and now 
exceeds 85,000,000. At the same rate, the number will certainly 
reach 100,000,000 in 1900, the year for the opening of the bridge. 
Only 40 per cent, of this number are, however, conservatively 
assumed as using the bridge, although it is more than probable 
that the percentage will be much larger, because of the excep- 
tionally favorable location of the bridge. 

For the probable growth of the bridge traffic, the Brooklyn 



Bridge furnishes an illustration. It carried in 1884 (one year 
after completion) 8,528,000 passengers. In 1890, it carried 
40,898,400 ; and at present, the annual number exceeds 43,000,000 
paying passengers, a growth of over 500 per cent, in ten years, 
from merely local traffic, because no railroads are using that 
bridge. It has no terminals to speak of, showing that a very 
large local passenger business is possible without large terminals. 
Another instance of rapid growth, stimulated by low fares, is 
furnished by the elevated railroads, which carried 60,830,000 pas- 
sengers in 1880; and at present, with the same length of road, 
and without special terminals, carry over 200,000,000 passengers, 
an increase of 340 per cent, in 15 years. The constant growth of 
passenger traffic is also exemplified by the experience of the 
Broadway cable road, which in 1893 carried 83,196,000 passengers, 
and 107,036,000 in 1894; and in the Third Avenue cable road, 
which carried 33,150,000 passengers in 1893, and 35,000,000 in 
1894. 

The Grand Central Station at 42d Street, being the passenger 
terminus of only two steam railroads with four tracks, has about 
12,400,000 passengers per year, averaging 340 daily passenger 
trains. , 

The Broad Street Station in Philadelphia of the Pennsylvania 
R. R., which is only one of the large railroad systems that will 
use the North River Bridge, accommodates 20,OCO,000 passengers 
per year with about 500 daily trains. 

The North River Bridge is a greater necessity than were the 
Brooklyn Bridge, the elevated railroads, or cable lines at the time 
of their completion. It is therefore evident, that the local pas- 
senger business alone over the North River Bridge, stimulated 
by low fares, will reach colossal proportions. But, favorably 
located as this bridge is, it will also be the principal avenue into 
New York for the heavy high class freight traffic as well as pas- 
sengers from all the railroad systems, now terminating in New 
Jersey opposite New York. 

The daily number of passenger trains from and to New York 
on these railroads averages at present 1200, and the number of 
freight cars about 4800. It is conservatively estimated, that in 
1900, on completion of the bridge, 500 passenger trains, with 50,- 
OOO railroad passengers, 1 100 freight cars, and 60,000 local elec- 
tric traction passengers will cross the bridge daily to commence 
with, the revenue from which, at very low rates, will pay all fixed 



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charges and expenses, leaving a large margin for safety, as shown 
above. 

It is reasonable to expect, from a study of the situation and 
precedent, that the yearly number of passengers will in a few 
years reach, if not exceed, those of the elevated railroad system, 
because the bridge will be the means of speedily reaching a vast 
and beautiful section of country available for cheap and pleasant 
homes but not now available by reason of the inconvenient modes 
of transit. 

The bridge will shorten the time for crossing the North River, 
as compared with the present ferries, from 15 to 45 minutes, so 
that of necessity a very large population will settle and grow up 
in the beautiful country along the lines of steam and electrical 
railroads in New Jersey, which will land the passengers directly in 
the heart of New York, from where they can quickly reach any 
desired point in the city. It is the one improvement of most 
pressing necessity for New York, and indeed of the country and 
there never was another great undertaking which from the start 
had such a promising and certain future. 

Description of the North River Bridge at 
New York. 

The urgent demand for better facilities of communication 
across the deep Hudson River at New York led first to the at- 
tempt to tunnel it (over twenty years ago) but the difficulties, cost, 
and delays were so great, that work on the tunnel has been stop- 
ped, and there is at present no early prospect of its completion. 
It is now well understood, that a tunnel under the Hudson River 
might be made suitable for local transit, but it would afford no 
relief to the many railroads, terminating on the New Jersey .^hore 
opposite New York. The steep grades necessary for a tunnel, 
diving over 120 feet underthe river; the heavy expense for main- 
tenance in the form of pumping, lighting and ventilating; the 
slow speed to be imposed on trains for reasons of safety ; the great 
risks from spring floods or from wrecks or derailments ; the well 
known aversion of passengers to the chilly and smoky atmosphere 
and to the incessant and unavoidable roar ; the vast expense of 
an adequate underground terminal station in New York, make a 
bridge by comparison beyond all doubt more agreeable and pref-- 




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NEW YORK AND SURROUNDINGS. 

SHOWING HORTH RIYER BRIDGE COHNECTIHG NEW YORK CITY AND HEW JERSEY. 

AUTHORIZED BY CONGRESS 1890. 



erable. If to this the fact be added, that an eight track bridge 
can now be built for less than one-half the cost of any tunnel ar- 
rangement, with corresponding facilities, it leaves the bridge as 
the only proper means for crossing the river. 

The obstacles to the construction of a bridge seemed at first 
insurmountable. The only bridge thought of was one with piers 
in the river, requiring very deep foundations, from 250 to 300 feet 
to rock, and prohibitive in cost. Piers were also stoutly opposed 
by the navigation and commercial interests of the Port of New 
York, as greatly damaging the large and rapidly increasing com- 
merce on this, the most magnificent and important river in the 
United States. 

The North River Bridge Company was the first to realize that 
piers would not be permitted in the North River, and to meet the 
exigencies it proposed a bridge in one single span, and then pro- 
vided fully worked out plans for the same, so as to show the 
feasibility and great economy of it over all other methods of pro- 
viding an entrance into New York. 

The importance of this enterprise, its benefits and far reach- 
ing consequences to New York and the country can hardly be 
overestimated. 

The bridge, as now designed, will provide for a capacity of 14 
tracks, of which, however, only 8 tracks and the promenade will 
at first be installed. The other 6 tracks will be added in the 
future as needed. Of the 8 tracks, 2 will be used for local electric 
cars, 2 tracks for suburban trains, 2 for express trains and 2 for 
freight trains. The capacity of all 8 tracks will be needed from 
the beginning to meet the vast traffic across the river. 

The great economy of the structure can be shown by a com- 
parison with a bridge of only 2 tracks ; i. e., the estimated cost of 
an 8 track bridge is 21, 000,000 dollars, and of a double track bridge 
9,000,000 dollars for construction alone. Four double track 
structures, if built singly, would therefore cost 36,000,000 dollars, 
or 15,000,000 dollars more than an 8 track bridge, capable of in- 
crease to 14 tracks in the future foran additional 2,500,000 dollars. 
It proves that the only proper way and the cheapest to secure an 
entrance into New York for the railroads is by such a bridge as 
proposed by the North River Bridge Company, and years of 
careful and painstaking study has settled it beyond a doubt. 

The building of this great bridge will be relatively less diffi- 
cult, than was the construction at the time, of either the East 



River Bridge or the Forth Bridge, the two largest bridges now in 
existence. The manufacturing facilities for steel products have 
so much improved in recent years, that the cost will be only about 
one-half of what it would have been ten years ago. The time of 
building will be likewise much reduced, since with the aid of 
electric lights, many building operations can now be carried on 
at night equally as well as in day time, and then the whole work 
has been so designed as to come within the existing facilities of 
the Bridge Constructing Companies. 

All the surveys have been made; the engineering plans are 
carefully worked out and on file at the War Department, Wash- 
ington, which has approved them under date of Dec. 29, 1891. 

On the New Jersey side, the approach will begin in the 
meadows between the Hackensack River and Bergen Hill. This 
latter ridge will be crossed in an open cut, 100 feet wide. The 
stone quarried from this cut, a very hard and durable gneiss and 
traprock, will be used for the concrete masonry of the towers and 
anchorages, which will be faced with cut granite. 

No engineering project was ever more carefully studied and 
prepared before construction. Mere figures will not give an ade- 
quate impression of the gigantic work, but some idea can be had 
from the following comparison with other bridges. 





North River 


Brooklyn Suspen- 


Forth Cantilever 




Bridge. 


sion Bridge. 


Bridge. 


Length including anchorages. 


7,340' 


3,700' 


5,400' 


Length of middle spans. Cen- 








tre to centre of bearings. 


3,100' 


1 ,600' 


1,710' 


Number of tracks. 


8 


2 and 2 wagon 
roads. 


2 


Weight of superstructure per 








lineal foot, between towers. 


30,000 lbs. 


7,450 lbs. 


12,700 lbs. 


Total weight of steel and iron 








required, including towers 








and anchorages. 


132,240 tons. 


10,890 tons. 


50,960 tons. 


Cost of construction without 








right of way and interest ac- 








count. 


$21,000,000 


$5,600,000 


$13,000,000 


Cost per lineal foot of track. 


$354 


$805 


$1,200 


Height of towers above water. 


580' 


272' 


35°' 


Height of structure above 








water. 


155' 


135' 


150' 



The cost of the bridge liberally estimated and measured by 
the cost per lineal foot of track (which is the accepted standard 
for comparisons of cost) will therefore be lower, by more than one- 



half, than that of the greatest existing steel bridge structure. It 
shows more clearly than anything else could, the great advance 
in scientific bridge designing, and the extraordinary cheapness 
reached in steel construction. 

The North River bridge is not a suspension structure like the 
Brooklyn Bridge, but entirely different in its construction. It is 
of the nature of a braced arch ; but instead of being erect and 
in compression, the arch is inverted or suspended from the 
towers and is in tension. The principle of bracing or rigidity is 
the same for both kinds of arches; both are very rigid and suit- 
able for the heaviest trains and locomotives. There will be no 
restrictions to the working speed over the bridge which is to be 
the same as over a solid roadbed. 

While in the Niagara Railroad Suspension Bridge and the 
Brooklyn Bridge the parallel steel wires are compacted into solid 
round cables wound or wrapped closely with wire on the outside, 
the corresponding cables in the North River Bridge will show 
a great improvement of construction. They will consist of wire 
loops, or eyebars made of steel wire, wound around flanged 
steel shoes, bored out to fit the big pins, which hold the links to- 
gether as in a chain bridge. The web bracing between the upper 
and lower cables, forming the suspended arch, will be fastened to 
the same pins. The great advantage of this system is, that the wire 
links can be made to accurate length in the shop, and transported 
in finished form to the ground, the same as other steel parts of 
the bridge. No fitting or adjustment of them is required during 
erection which can therefore proceed very rapidly. The time re- 
quired for erection will only be one-fourth of the time required 
for the Brooklyn Bridge cables, a very important item in the in- 
terest account during construction. 

The chains of wire links will be covered with a water-tight 
mantle or envelope of sheet steel, leaving an air space all around 
for the purpose of protecting them against uneven heating by the 
•sun and against the weather. The steel mantles will be remov- 
able for the inspection of the wire links, whenever needed, a great 
advantage for the protection against rusting. 

The towers will be built of steel. The columns will be 
strongly braced together, to resist the strongest tornado, which 
would not affect the structure any more than it would a solid 
mountain. 

The architectural features of this great bridge will be very 



h 



i 




NEW YORK BAY 

LOCATION 

HUDSON RIVER BRIDGE 

AMD THE 

Union Passenger Station in New* rk Cit y. 

• MOWING CONNECTIONS WIT" **" 

Railroads in Nei Jersey, New York Citj U* LoD ^ IslaDd ' 

OF THE 

NORTH RIVER BRIDdE C< 
Incorporated bu Conarcsx ./,& > 



pleasing. The graceful curves of the suspended rigid arches, the 
simple and strong form of the towers, the large featured masses 
of the anchorages, will all combine to make the bridge grand and 
harmonious in all its parts, without artificial devices or ornamen- 
tation, illustrating the adage, that a scientifically and economically 
designed structure carries its own pleasing dignity and character- 
istic architecture. 

The Charter and Its Validity. 

It is a matterof general knowledge, that charters, granted for 
large undertakings, like railroads, bridges, tunnels, or elevated 
roads in New York or vicinity, have nearly always been attacked 
in the courts as to their validity ; resulting in injunctions, stop- 
ping the work of construction for long periods, pending final 
adjudication ; and sometimes ending in decisions nullifying the 
granted powers. The loss of capital in this way has sometimes 
been great, and is always irrecoverable. 

To avoid such risks and losses in the undertaking of the North 
River Bridge, the Company first determined that, in view of the 
great importance of the work and of the fact that the Bridge 
would be an inter-state structure that the power to build it should 
come from the United States Government itself and after careful 
consideration by Congress the charter was granted. The Com- 
pany then made all possible haste to make certain of the val- 
idity of its charter through the courts. As the first preliminary 
thereto, it submitted its plans of location and of the bridge to 
the Secretary of War for his approval, in accordance with the 
provisions of the Act of Congress. After a series of public 
hearings, held in New York before the Board of U. S. Army 
Engineers, in the early part of the year 1891, the Secretary of 
War finally approved the plans and location, under date of De- 
cember 29, 1891. Immediately thereafter, steps were taken by 
the Company to acquire property for the right of way in New 
Jersey by condemnation, and the resulting lawsuits furnished the 
occasion for testing the validity of the charter in the United 
States courts. 

The Company, being a federal or national corporation, is sub- 
ject to the direct jurisdiction of the United States. The case was 
first decided in the U. S. Circuit Court for the northern district 
of New Jersey, in Trenton, N. J., but was carried up on appeal 



to the Supreme Court of the United States, which confirmed the 
decision of the lower court in favor of the Company, and also 
confirmed the constitutionality and validity of the Charter. 

The United States Supreme Court being the highest court in 
the land, its decision is final and conclusive. Any attempts, 
therefore, to stop the work of construction by legal contests in 
the courts have been met in advance and cannot succeed. This 
is a very important preliminary in the construction of the work, 
which cannot now be interrupted and jeopardized by litigation. 
It is safe to say, that no other company or new work in this 
vicinity has been so safeguarded, or can give such evidence and 
assurance to investors. 

Following is the decision of the Supreme Court of the United 
States in full : 



SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES. 



No. 1040. — October Term, 1893. 



Susan Lu-xton, Plaintiff in Error, ") In Error to the Circuit Court of the 
vs. - United States for the District of 

The North River Bridge Company. ) New Jersey. 

This was a petition by the North River Bridge Company, incorpo- 
rated by the act of Congress of July n, 1890, c. 669 (the material part 
of which is copied in the margin,*) for the appointment under that act 



*An act to incorporate the North River Bridge Company, and to authorize the construction 
of a bridge and approaches at New York City across the Hudson River, to regulate 
commerce in and over such bridge between the States of New York and New Jersey, 
and to establish such bridge a military and post road. 

Hi- it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of 
America in Congress assembled, That authorization is hereby given to Jordan L. Mott, 
John King McLanahan, James Andrews, Thomas F. Ryan, Garrett A. Hobart, F. W. 
Roebling, Charles J. Canda, Edward F. C. Young, Henry Flad, Gustav Lindenthal, A. 
G. Dickinson, John H. Miller, William llrookheld, Samuel Rea, William F. Shunk 
Philip E. Chapin, and their associates, as a corporation as hereinafter provided, to locate 
build, maintain, equip and operate a bridge, proper approaches thereto, and terminals 
appurtenances and works connected therewith, across the Hudson River in and between 
the city of New York, in the State of New York, and the State of New Jersey, and to lay 



13 

of commissioners to assess damages for the appropriation and condemna- 
tion, for the approaches to its bridge across the Hudson or North River, 
between the States of New York and New Jersey, of land of Sarah 
Luxton in the city of Hoboken and the county of Hudson in the latter 
State. Upon the order of the Circuit Court, appointing commissioners, 
she sued out a writ of error, which was dismissed by this court at the 
last term, because that order was not a final judgment. 147 U. S. 337. 
The commissioners afterwards made an award and report, assessing her 
damages at the sum of $2000, to the acceptance of which she objected, 



tracks thereon for the connection of the railroads on either side of said river, in order to 
facilitate interstate commerce in the transportation of persons and property, and for vehicle, 
pedestrian, postal, military and other purposes : Provided, That said bridge shall have not 
less than six railroad tracks, with a capacity for four additional tracks for future enlarge-' 
ment, and shall be constructed with a single span over the entire river between the towers, 
located between the shore and the established pier head lines in either State, and at an 
elevation above the river not less than that of the existing Brooklyn suspension bridge over 
the East River, and which elevation may be increased by the Secretary of War as herein- 
after provided, and that no pier or other obstruction to navigation, either of a temporary or 
permanent character, shall be constructed in the river between said towers. 

Sec 2. That the construction of said bridge shall be commenced within three years 
after the passage of this act, and shall be completed within ten years after the commence- 
ment of construction. But that the Secretary of War is hereby authorized to extend the 
time for the commencement of construction for two additional years upon cause shown 
by the company, and provided that the Secretary of War shall deem such cause sufficient 
and satisfactory ; and that, if the company fail to commence the construction of said bridge 
within the time so extended, this act shall be null and void. And the company, at least 
three months previous to commencing the erection of said bridge, shall submit to the Sec- 
retary of War a plan of the bridge, with a detailed map of the river at the proposed site ot 
the bridge, and for the distance of one-half of a mile above and below the site, with 
such other information as the Secretary of War may require for a full and satisfactory 
understanding of the subject. And the Secretary of War may, upon receiving said 
plans and map and other information, order a hearing before a board of engineers, ap- 
pointed by him for taking testimony of persons interested in railroads and navigation, 
relative to the clear height of the superstructure above ordinary high water. Such 
clear height shall not be less than that named in section one of this act, and the 
Secretary of War may thereupon order such additional clear height as he shall deem 
necessary for the security of navigation. And he is hereby authorized and directed, 
upon being satisfied that a bridge built on such plan and at said locality will conform 
to the conditions of this act, to notify the said company that he approves the plans 
therefor ; whereupon said company may proceed to the erection of said bridge. But 
until the Secretary of War approve the plan and location of said bridge the erection 
of the same shall not be commenced ; and should any change be made in the plan 
of the bridge during the progress of the work thereon, such change shall likewise be 
subject to the approval of the Secretary of War. 

Sec. 3. That the bridge, with its approaches and railroad thereover, constructed under 
the provisions of this act, shall be a lawful structure, and a military and post road, but no 
toll charges shall be made for the transmission over the same of the mails of the United 
States, or for the right of way for the United States postal telegraph purposes. 



14 

upon the ground that the act of Congress was unconstitutional, and par- 
ticularly that Congress could not confer the right of eminent domain 
upon the company. But the court overruled the objection, and adjudged 
that the award be approved and confirmed, and remain of record in the 
office of its clerk ; and that, upon payment or tender of the sum 
awarded, the company might enter upon and take possession of the land 
for the purpose for which it was condemned. She thereupon sued out 
this writ of error. 



Sec 4. That for the purpose of carrying into effect the objects stated in this act, the 
persons named in the first section hereof, and their associates, are hereby constituted and 
created a body corporate in law, to be known as the North River Bridge Company, and 
by that name, style and title shall have perpetual succession ; may sue and be sued, im- 
plead and be impleaded, complain and defend in all courts of law and equity, of record 
and otherwise ; may make and have a common seal, and shall have and possess all the 
rights, powers, franchises and privileges incident to or usually possessed by such com- 
panies. It may receive, purchase, and also acquire by lawful appropriation and condem- 
nation, upon making proper compensation therefor, to be ascertained according to the laws 
of the State within which the same is located, real and personal property and rights of 
property, and may mortgage, encumber, charge, pledge, grant, lease, sell, assign and con- 
vey the same. And to aid in the construction of said bridge and approaches thereto, and 
railroad terminals, appurtenances and works connected therewith, and to carry out the 
purposes of this act, the said North River Bridge Company is hereby authorized to 
issue its bonds, and secure the same by mortgage on its property and rights of property, of 
all kinds and descriptions, and its franchise to be a corporation. And generally and 
specially for the fully carrying out of the purposes and intentions of this act, the said 
North River Bridge Company, and its successors, shall have and possess all such rights 
and powers to enter upon lands, and for the purchase, acquisition, condemnation, appro- 
priation, occupation, possession and use of real estate and other property, and for the loca- 
tion, construction, operation and maintenance of said bridge with its approaches, terminals 
and appurtenances, as are possessed by railroad or bridge companies in the States of New 
York and New Jersey, respectively. That all persons, railroad and telegraph companies, 
respectively, desiring to use said bridge, shall have and be entitled to equal rights and 
privileges in the passage over and use of the same, and the approaches thereto, for a rea- 
sonable compensation, to be approved by the Interstate Commerce Commission as herein- 
after determined, and to be paid to the North River Bridge Company, which is hereby duly 
empowered to collect the same. And sufficient trackage and terminal facilities shall be 
provided for all railroads desiring to use said bridge and appurtenances. In case any litigation 
arises out of the construction, use or operation of said bridge or approaches thereto and 
railroad thereon, or for the condemnation or the appropriation of property in connection 
therewith under this act, the cause so arising shall be heard and tried before the Circuit 
Court of the United States for the judicial district in which the bridge or one of the ap- 
proaches is located. Applications for condemnation or appropriation of property shall be 
made in the Circuit Court of the United States for the district in which such property is 
situated, upon the petition of said company ; and the hearing and trial of all other pro- 
ceedings thereon shall conform as nearly as may be to the practice in the courts of the 
State, in which such district is situated, in the case of condemnation or appropriation of 
property for railroads. 26 Stat. 268-270. 



i5 

[May 14, 1894.] 

Mr. Justice Gray, after stating the case, delivered the opinion of 
the Court. 

The validity of the act of Congress incorporating the North River 
Bridge Company rests upon principles of constitutional law, now estab- 
lished beyond dispute. 

The Congress of the United States, being empowered by the Consti- 
tution to regulate commerce among the several States, and to pass all 
laws necessary or proper for carrying into execution any of the powers 
specifically conferred, may make use of any appropriate means for this end. 
As said by Chief Justice Marshall, "The power of creating a corpora- 
tion, though appertaining to sovereignty, is not, like the power of making 
war, or levying taxes, or of regulating commerce, a great substantive 
and independent power, which cannot be implied as incidental to other 
powers, or used as a means of executing them. It is never the end for 
which other powers are exercised, but a means by which other objects 
are accomplished." Congress, therefore, may create corporations as 
appropriate means of executing the powers of government, as, for in- 
stance, a bank for the purpose of carrying on the fiscal operations of the 
United States, or a railroad corporation for the purpose of promoting 
commerce among the States. McCulloch v. Maryland, 4 Wheat. 316, 
411, 422; Osborn v. Bank of the United States, 9 Wheat. 738, 861, 
873; Pacific Railroad Removal Cases, 115 U. S. 1, 18; California v. 
Pacific Railroad, 127 U. S. 1, 39. Congress has likewise the power, 
exercised early in this century by successive acts in the case of the Cum- 
berland or National Road from the Potomac across the Alleghenies to 
the Ohio, to authorize the construction of a public highway connecting 
several States. See Indiana v. United States, 148 U. S. 148. And 
whenever it becomes necessary, for the accomplishment of any object 
within the authority of Congress, to exercise the right of eminent domain 
and take private lands, making just compensation to the owners, Con- 
gress may do this with or without a concurrent act of the State in which 
the lands lie. Van Brocklin v. Tennessee, 117 U. S. 151, 154, and 
cases cited; Cherokee Nation v '. Kansas Railway, 135 U. S. 641, 656. 

From these premises, the conclusion appears to be inevitable that, 
although Congress may, if it sees fit and as it has often done, recognize 
and approve bridges erected by authority of two States across navigable 
waters between them, it may, at its discretion, use its sovereign powers, 
directly or through a corporation created for that object, to construct 
bridges for the accommodation of interstate commerce by land, as it un- 
doubtedly may to improve the navigation of rivers for the convenience of 



i6 

interstate commerce by water, i Hare's Constitutional Law, 24S, 249. 
See acts of July, T4, 1862, c. 167 ; 12 Stat. 569 ; February 17, 1865, c. 
38 ; 13 Stat. 431 ; July 25, 1866, c. 246 ; 14 Stat. 244 ; March 3, 1871, 
c. 121, § 5 ; 16 Stat. 572, 573 ; June 16, 1886, c. 417 ; 24 Stat. 78. 

The judicial opinions cited in support of the opposite view are not, 
having regard to the facts of the cases in which they were uttered, of 
controlling weight. 

Mr. Justice McLean, indeed, in an opinion delivered by him in the 
Circuit Court, by which a bill by the United States to restrain the con- 
struction of a bridge across the Mississippi River was dismissed, no injury 
to property of the United States and no substantial obstruction to navi- 
gation being shown, and there having been no legislation by Congress 
upon the subject, took occasion to remark that "neither under the com- 
mercial power, nor under the power to establish post roads, can Congress 
construct a bridge over a navigable water ' ' ; that ' ' if Congress can con- 
struct a bridge over a navigable water, under the power to regulate com- 
merce or to establish post roads, on the same principle it may make 
turnpike or railroads throughout the entire country " ; and that " the lat- 
ter power has generally been considered as exhausted in the designation 
of roads on which the mails are to be transported ; and the former by the 
regulation of commerce upon the high seas and upon our rivers and 
lakes." United States v. Railroad Bridge Co., 6 McLean, 517, 524, 525. 

The same learned justice repeated and enlarged upon that idea in his 
dissenting opinion in Pennsylvania v. Wheeling Bridge, r8 How. 42r, 
442, 443, where, after the Wheeling Bridge, constructed across the Ohio 
River under an act of the State of Virginia, had by a decree of this court, 
at the suit of the State of Pennsylvania, been declared to be in its then 
condition an unlawful obstruction of the navigation of the river, and in 
conflict with the acts of Congress regulating such navigation, and there- 
fore ordered to be elevated or abated, Congress passed an act. declaring 
the bridge to be a lawful structure in its then position and elevation, 
establishing it as a post road for the passage of the mails of the United 
States, authorizing the corporation to have and maintain the bridge at 
that site and elevation, and requiring the captains and crews of all vessels 
and boats navigating the river to regulate the use thereof, and of any 
pipes or chimneys belonging thereto, so as not to interfere with the ele- 
vation and construction of the bridge. Act of August 31, 1852, c. in, 
§§ 6, 7 ; 10 Stat. 112. 

But the majority of this court in that case held that " the act of Con- 
gress afforded full authority to the defendants to reconstruct the bridge." 
18 How. 436. Mr. Justice Nelson, in delivering its opinion, said : " We 
do not enter upon the question, whether or not Congress possess the 



17 

power, under the authority in the Constitution to establish post offices and 
post roads, to legalize this' bridge ; for, conceding that no such powers can 
be derived from this clause, it must be admitted that it is, at least, neces- 
sarily included in the power conferred to regulate commerce among the 
several States. The regulation of commerce includes intercourse and 
navigation, and, of course, the power to determine what shall or shall not 
be deemed in judgment of law an obstruction to navigation ; and that 
power, as we have seen, has been exercised consistently with the contin- 
uance of the bridge." 18 How. 431. And Mr. Justice Daniel, in a con- 
curring opinion, sustaining the validity of the act of Congress, said : 
" They have regulated this matter upon a scale by them conceived to be 
just and impartial, with reference to that commerce which pursues the 
course of the river, and to that which traverses its channel, and is broadly 
diffused through the country. They have at the same time, by what they 
have done, secured to the government, and to the public at large, the 
essential advantage of a safe and certain transit over the Ohio." 18 How. 
458. A similar decision was made in The Clinton Bridge, 10 Wall. 454. 
See also Miller v. New York, 109 U. S. 385. 

In the cases, cited at the bar, of The Passaic Bridges, 3 Wall, appx. 
782, decided by Mr. Justice Grier in the Circuit Court, and of Oilman 
v. Philadelphia, 3 Wall. 713, and Wright v. Nagle, 101 U. S. 791, in 
this court, the bridge in question had been erected under authority of a 
State and was wholly within the State, and no question arose, or was con- 
sidered, as to the power of Congress, in regulating interstate commerce, 
to authorize the erection of bridges between two States. 

Butin Stockton v. Baltimore &° New York Railroad, 32 Fed. Rep. 9, Mr. 
Justice Bradley, sitting in the Circuit Court, upheld the constitutionality 
of the act of Congress of June 16, 1886. c. 417, authorizing a corporation 
of New York and one of New Jersey to build and maintain a bridge, as 
therein directed, across the Staten Island Sound or Arthur Kill. 24 Stat. 78. 

The reasons upon which the decision in that case rested were, in sub- 
stance, the same as were stated by that eminent judge in two opinions 
afterwards delivered by him in behalf of this court, in which the power 
of Congress, by its own legislation, to confer original authority to erect 
bridges over navigable waters, whenever Congress considers it necessary 
to do so to meet the demands of interstate commerce by land, is so clearly 
demonstrated, as to render further discussion of the subject superfluous. 

In Willamette Bridge v . Hatch, 125 U. S. 1, in which it was held that 
section 2 of the act of February 14, 1859, c. 33, (n Stat. 38 3 )for the ad- 
mission of Oregon into the Union, providing that " all the navigable waters 
of the said State shall be common highways, and forever free, as well to 
the inhabitants of said State as to all other citizens of the United States," 



did not prevent the State, in the absence of legislation by Congress, from 
authorizing the erection of a bridge over such a river, Mr. Justice Bradley, 
speaking for the whole court, said : " And although, until Congress acts, 
the States have the plenary power supposed, yet, when Congress chooses 
to act, it is not concluded by anything that the States, or that individuals 
by its authority or acquiescence, have done, from assuming entire control 
of the matter, and abating any erections that may have been made, and 
preventing any others from being made, except in conformity with such 
regulations as it may impose. It is for this reason, namely, the ultimate 
(though yet unexerted) power of Congress over the whole subject-matter, 
that the consent of Congress is so frequently asked to the erection of 
bridges over navigable streams. It might itself give original authority 
for the erection of such bridges, when called for by the demands of inter- 
state commerce by land ; but, in many, perhaps the majority of cases, its 
assent only is asked, and the primary authority is sought at the hands of 
the State." 125 U. S. 12, 13. 

In California v. Pacific Railroad, 127 U. S. 1, it was directly adjudged 
that Congress has authority, in the exercise of its power to regulate com- 
merce among the several States, to authorize corporations to construct 
railroads across the States, as well as the Territories of the United States ; 
and Mr. Justice Bradley, again speaking for the court, and referring to 
the acts of Congressing establishing corporations to build railroads across 
the continent, said : "It cannot at the present day be doubted that Con- 
gress, under the power to regulate commerce among the several States, 
as well as to provide for postal accommodations and military exigencies, 
had authority to pass these laws. The power to construct, or to authorize 
individuals or corporations to construct, national highways and bridges 
from State to State, is essential to the complete control and regulation 
of interstate commerce. Without authority in Congress to establish and 
maintain such highways and bridges, it would be without authority to 
Tegulate one of the most important adjuncts of commerce. This power 
in former times were exerted to a very limited extent, the Cumberland or 
National road being the most notable instance. Its exertion was but 
little called for, as commerce was then mostly conducted by water, and 
many of our statesmen entertained doubts as to the existence of the power 
to establish ways of communication by land. But since, in consequence 
of the expansion of the country, the multiplication of its products, and 
the invention of railroads and locomotion by steam, land transportation 
has so vastly increased, a sounder consideration of the subject has pre- 
vailed, and led to the conclusion that Congress has plenary power over 
the whole subject. Of course, the authority of Congress over the Terri- 
tories of the United States, and its power to grant franchises exercisible 



•9 

therein, are, and ever have been, undoubted. But the wider power was 
very freely exercised, and much to the general satisfaction, in the creation 
of the vast system of railroads connecting the East with the Pacific, 
traversing States as well as Territories, and employing the agency of State 
as well as Federal corporations." 127 U. S. 39, 40. 

The act of Congress now in question declares the construction of the 
North River Bridge between the States of New York and New Jersey to 
be "in order to facilitate interstate commerce " ; and it makes due pro- 
vision for the condemnation of lands for the construction and maintenance 
of the bridge and its approaches, and for just compensation to the owners, 
which has been accordingly awarded to the plaintiff in error. 

In the light of the foregoing principles and authorities, the objection 
made to the constitutionality of this act cannot be sustained. 

Judgment affirmed. 



«- 107 89 



